Tasman Goodrick vs. Nova Southeastern
Mike Gallagher
87
Gannon Gannon 0-2,0-0 PSAC
107
Winner Lake Superior St. LSSU 2-0,0-0 GLIAC
Gannon Gannon
0-2,0-0 PSAC
87
Final
107
Lake Superior St. LSSU
2-0,0-0 GLIAC
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Gannon Gannon 31 56 87
Lake Superior St. LSSU 55 52 107

Game Recap: Men's Basketball | | Bob Shreve, Assistant Director of Athletics Media Relations

Six Score In Double Figures but Gannon Falls to Lake Superior State

LAKELAND, Fla. – The Gannon men's basketball team completed play in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Sunday with a 107-87 loss to Lake Superior State. Florida Southern hosted the tournament at Jenkins Field House.

Gannon came in ranked seventh in the NABC Division II Preseason Top 25, but the opened the season against second-ranked Nova Southeastern, the Division II national runnerup last year, followed by Sunday's game against a Lake Superior State team that was receiving votes in the poll after reaching the Sweet 16 last year.

The Golden Knights found themselves trailing 55-31 at the half as they came out cold while the Lakers couldn't miss. Gannon shot 31.0 percent over the first 20 minutes while Lake Superior State hit at a 60.0 percent clip.

The encouraging thing for first-year head coach Easton Bazzoli was the hustle and energy his team showed in the second half. The Golden Knights closed the gap to 12 points at one stage but every time they made a run the Lakers came back with a big shot.

Gannon will have a chance to present Bazzoli with his first win as a head coach this coming weekend competing in the PSAC-CIAA Challenge hosted by Virginia State. The Golden Knights play Virginia State on Friday, November 8 and Winston-Salem State on Saturday, November 9.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Gannon never led in the game as Lake Superior State came out on fire, making seven of its first eight shots. An 8-0 run gave the Lakers an 18-point lead at 33-15 and they would extend their advantage to 55-31 at the half. LSSU shot 60.0 percent in the half (21-of-35), including 7-of-13 on 3-pointers. Gannon, meanwhile, was just 9-of-29 (31.0 pct.) from the field.

Gannon came out in the second half and closed the gap to 13 points at 65-52 just under seven minutes into the half thanks to a 9-3 run. A Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) jumper eventually cut the deficit to 12 at 78-66 with ten minutes left to play.

Lake Superior State responded with the next four points but Gannon had one last run. This time a pair of free throws by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) made it 87-74 with 5:09 remaining. Not long after a 10-2 run by the Lakers boosted their lead back up to 20 points and Gannon never challenged again.  

BY THE NUMBERS
Gannon improved to 46.3 percent from the floor (19-of-41) in the second half to end the day at 40.0 percent (28-of-70). That included a 3-for-18 showing on 3-pointers. Lake Superior State "cooled off" slightly to 52.9 pct. in the second half (18-of-34) but still ended the game at 56.2 pct. (39-of-69). The Lakers were also 14-of-28 from beyond the arc.

Similar to last year, Gannon spent plenty of time at the line, making 28-of-42 free throws. LSSU was 15-of-22. The physical game saw the Lakers post a 45-42 rebounding advantage. Gannon forced 17 LSSU turnovers while committing 14 turnovers.

Six Golden Knights scored in double figures, led by Tasman Goodrick (Sydney, Australia/St. Joseph's College) with 16 points. The 6-foot-9 sophomore posted his first career double double with a game-high 12 rebounds. Ernest Shelton (Philadelphia, Pa./Father Judge) and Justin DeBuck (Broward County, Fla./Pembroke Pines Charter) scored 15 points apiece. Bruce Carpenter (Fayetteville, Ga./McIntosh) came off the bench to score 13 points in 16 minutes, making 9-of-12 free throws. Freshmen Lucas Sekasi (Washington, DC/Jackson-Reed) and Pace Prosser (Berlin, Pa./Berlin Brothersvalley) reached double figures for the first time with 11 points and 10 points, respectively. Prosser was 6-of-7 at the line and pulled down six rebounds while Sekasi was 5-of-7 from the floor.

Lake Superior State's starting five accounted for 90 of the team's 107 points. Tyson Edmondson made 6-of-11 3-pointers to finish with a game-high 24 points.

Gannon has now allowed 100-or-more points in back-to-back games for the first time since the 1970-71 season. Oddly enough, Gannon won one of those two games, defeating Alliance in two overtimes 111-109 before losing in the next outing at Central Connecticut State 101-71. Gannon has allowed at least 50 points in all four halves this year.

NEXT FOR THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Gannon is back in action next weekend competing in the PSAC-CIAA Challenge hosted by Virginia State. The Golden Knights play Virginia State on Friday, November 8 and Winston-Salem State on Saturday, November 9.
 
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